Lunch Time

Great Blue Herons are rather stately birds and I enjoy photographing them. Most people probably don't think of them in the same context as eagles and hawks, but herons are predators...birds of prey. They're known for their fish catching prowess, but they'll eat just about anything they can swallow. That includes not only fish, but mice, voles, rats, other small mammals, snakes, ducklings, and other small birds. Sometimes the prey is so large it can take twenty minutes or more to get it down. They survive by hunting and that one objective makes them very proficient predators. In some instances, they are considered pests because they can eradicate the fish from small farm and private ponds. After watching them for many hours, I've come to respect their methodical hunting ability.